$35 Raspberry Pi computer gets more awesome with double the RAM

The delightfully simple and surprisingly powerful Raspberry Pi computer has upgraded its Model B machine and kept the price at a stunning $35.

The Raspberry Pi project, run by the non-profit Raspberry Pi Foundation, started shipping its first orders in April and then shipped in volume in July. The credit-card computer runs the Linux OS and includes a 700-MHz processor and ports for Ethernet, HDMI, USB, and audio — enough oomph to play Quake 3.

Now the more powerful Pi Model B gets even better, with double the RAM at no extra cost. The upgrade makes the machine more versatile and could enable it to run apps simultaneously.

“One of the most common suggestions we’ve heard since launch is that we should produce a more expensive “Model C” version of Raspberry Pi with extra RAM,” Raspberry Pi foundation trustee Eben Upton said in a blog post. “This would be useful for people who want to use the Pi as a general-purpose computer, with multiple large applications running concurrently, and would enable some interesting embedded use cases (particularly using Java), which are slightly too heavyweight to fit comfortably in 256MB.”

One of the most common suggestions we’ve heard since launch is that we should produce a more expensive “Model C” version of Raspberry Pi with extra RAM. This would be useful for people who want to use the Pi as a general-purpose computer, with multiple large applications running concurrently, and would enable some interesting embedded use cases (particularly using Java) which are slightly too heavyweight to fit comfortably in 256MB.

The downside of this suggestion for us is that we’re very attached to $35 as our highest price point. With this in mind, we’re pleased to announce that from today all Model B Raspberry Pis will ship with 512MB of RAM as standard. If you have an outstanding order with either distributor, you will receive the upgraded device in place of the 256MB version you ordered. Units should start arriving in customers’ hands today, and we will be making a firmware upgrade available in the next couple of days to enable access to the additional memory.

I’d like to thank our partners, RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell, and the suppliers, particularly Samsung, Sony and Broadcom, for all their help in delivering a smooth transition to the 512MB. I’m looking forward to seeing what you all get up to with your shiny new Pis.